Serious games (SGs) or persuasive games are computer and video games used as persuasion technology or educational technology. They can be similar to educational games, but are often intended for an audience outside of primary or secondary education.

SeriousGames.ning.com is intended as a web portal to serious games news, resources and companies. Its secondary goal is to enable networking between anyone with an interest in serious games. To get started networking create a profile by clicking the 'join' link on the right of this page. Once you are a member everything you add to this site: profile, pictures, video, blog posts, forum posts, friends lists etc... can be accessed via your 'my page'. Think of this as your serious games 'mySpace'. Why not link to this page from your website or email signature?

A serious game may be a simulation which has the look and feel of a game, but corresponds to non-game events or processes, including business operations and military operations.The games are intended to provide an engaging, self-reinforcing context in which to motivate and educate the players. Other purposes for such games include marketing and advertisement. The largest users of SGs are the US government and medical professionals. Other commercial sectors are actively pursuing development of these types of tools as well. Serious games require you to use your skill and initiative and a strategy, unlike games of chance like playing the lottery or bingo games.

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Starting June there are going to be regular Excel data management workshops in downtown Milwaukee at Excel Classes Milwaukee 611 N. BROADWAY ST, MILWAUKEE, WI right by Hilton. Functions covered will range from popular tools like Pivot Tables, functions like VLOOKUP and MARCH and all the way to VBA programming for Microsoft Excel. After having great success in the City of Chicago the management decided to offer the service in the nearby large city in Wisconsin, Milwaukee,

Instagram is the new weird thing gaining popularity faster than a reasonable person could predict or explain why. Anyhow, with every popular social network come people who start providing services for the network, especially for those craving to be popular. Need Soundcloud plays? Just buy soundcloud plays. Or need more Instagram followers or likes? No problem! Now you can buy Instagram followers or buy Instagram likes and appear to be a hit right away. Facebook likes have been a working model for various online businesses, will Instagram likes & followers be the next?

Cholesterol is in the news these days. A family member or someone else may take medicine for high cholesterol. Certain foods, such as eggs, are high in cholesterol. Although some foods contain cholesterol, a healthy body makes the cholesterol it needs. The liver in all animals, including humans, makes this soft, waxy substance every day. Cholesterol is in the blood and in every cell in the body. The body uses cholesterol to form healthy, strong cell membranes (walls). Without cholesterol, cell membranes would be dry and tear easily. Material inside the cells would leak out. The body uses cholesterol in other ways. Cholesterol is in the tissues of the brain. The non-nerve cells of the brain make cholesterol. The brain is made up of billions of neurons (nerve cells) that communicate with one another. Neurons pass messages to other neurons by releasing chemical substances called neurotransmitters that are located at the ends of neurons. Neurotransmitters cross the gaps between neurons, called synapses, and then bind to nearby neurons. The cholesterol made in the brain helps synapses form.

The body also uses cholesterol to help make certain vitamins and hormones, such as the sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen. Cholesterol is used to make vitamin D, which is necessary for healthy bones and teeth. A small organ called the gallbladder uses cholesterol and other substances to make bile. This green liquid makes it possible for the body to absorb fats. The body uses fats to make fatty tissues that cushion the organs and help keep the body warm.

Cholesterol is essential for children, teens, and adults. Everyone needs it to be healthy. However, some people have high levels of cholesterol. Teens who have high cholesterol are more likely to have high cholesterol as adults. High cholesterol greatly increases the chance of developing cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart and arteries (blood vessels). People who have cardiovascular disease may have a…

Stress causes the body to enter the "fight or flight" mode of emergency response. During this mode the adrenal gland secretes its stress hormones: adrenaline and Cortisol. These hormones also cause an increase in cholesterol production. You may have thought that cholesterol is an evil substance, but the body needs cholesterol for nerve transmission. In stressful situations, we produce cholesterol to help the body handle the emergency, but if we are under constant or frequent stress, we are raising our cholesterol levels beyond what the body requires for normal function. For years we have heard of the "type-A" person - a fast-paced, detail oriented, very stressful perfectionist. We have also heard that people with this personality type are more prone to heart attacks. We know that stress is a strain on our cardiac system, but somehow we think that the risk applies to others and not to us.

Another reason that stress may contribute to higher cholesterol levels is that our behavior changes when we are under stress. We indulge in more unhealthful lifestyles in an attempt to counteract the stress. Smoking, alcohol abuse, and high carbohydrate consumption are examples of misguided attempts at handling pressure. These activities may give us a temporary emotional fix, but they are also precursors to elevated cholesterol levels.